Executives who successfully steered their companies through the quagmire of recession are now reaping their rewards undefined although some CEOs might have hoped there would be more.
As companies get healthier, employees' average pay rises and stock prices soar, 2011 brought a year of slight raises for CEOs. While another year of raises comes off one of the biggest increases ever for executive pay in 2010, it wasn't the bonanza CEOs have seen in prior years. Meanwhile, unemployment remains high for most workers.

http://www.usatoday.com/money/workplace/story/2012-03-28/ceo-pay-executive-compensation/53839786/1